I recently installed a Harmon Kardon Drive+Play in my car (http://www.harmankardon.com/drive-1/default_dp1.aspx), and for controlling the ipod and dispalying playlist info, its great.

But i have some very serious Alternator Whine (whining noise that correlates with accelerating/decelerating).

I mounted the display on the dash above the center air vents, and I have the controller propped up on some foam pads in the cupholder furthest front, and it is comfortable there (the cupholder was previously taken up by my ipod sitting in it so no loss).

The wire for the display is routed through the center console, behind the head unit, and out under the shifter, snaking along the emergency brake area to go into the center armrest where the Brain™ is housed. The controller is done the same way, through a hole i drilled in the bottom of the cupholder. Both of those wires have wayyy too much wire so they're bundled up in the center there with zipties.

The Brain™ has a power cable (also bundled with zipties, inside the armrest) that goes to the in-armrest cigarette lighter adapter. The output is an 1/8in mini stereo plug, which goes into the AUX IN in the armrest. The ipod also plugs into the Brain™.

You can also take a look at this diagram (maybe easier)


I've seen articles which say Alternator Whine = Ground Loop, or that things need to be grounded properly, but i'm not sure exactly what I would need to ground or how.

Could the bundles of cables be causing or exacerbating this?

Anyone have any other troubleshooting ideas or info about how i can remove alternator whine from this system? Thanks in advance.

 

I assume that there is no alternator whine when you disconnect the system.

How is it connected to your headunit? I read that the system can do a wireless FM or it can also be hard-lined. Also, are you still using the stock Pioneer headunit?

 

The Harmon Kardon "Brain" has an 1/8" mini stereo out that I am currently using to connect to the AUX IN in the center armrest compartment.

Yes I'm still using the stock pioneer headunit.

The Wireless FM transmitter is... not good. I also have a *wired* FM transmitter but haven't tried it yet.

When I just connect my ipod to the AUX IN jack, without the Harmon Kardon system (although the system is still powered on and everything) then I have no alternator whine.

That is hard to understand. let me know if i can clarify. Thanks for any help!

 

Well, then I would check the 1/8" output cable, try replacing it or plugging it in somewhere else, and see if it still whines. And try moving the plugin for the cigarette lighter to the one in the front and see if it helps.

If neither of those work, I would try manually wiring the unit to the wiring in your car. Otherwise, I think it would have to be the unit itself.

Also, the bundled up cables shouldnt be a problem, you said you put it in center next to the shifter, and theres not much in there that could cause interference with that line.

Glad to help, let me know if any of these work. Also, post up some pics of the system, definitely would like to see how the buttons on the control **** look.

 

Ok- I have already tried replacing the 1/8" output cable, and that didn't help.

Tried using the cigarette lighter in the front- no dice.

I'm going to try to connect it directly to the car's power instead of using the cigarette lighter adapter- but i noticed that the drive+play power has a red, yellow, and black cable.... and the scion HU has Red, Yellow, two white and brown.. so I couldn't do it yesterday. need to do more research about where to plug it in.

In the meantime- here are some pics of the system installed.

 

Bump- anybody have other ideas about alternator whine?

 

Try this:

1.) Separate all the signal wires from the power wires. Separate meaning don't run them along side each other.

2.) Make the ground wire thicker and shorter.

3.) Scrape the paint off of the body chassis and connect the ground wire.

If I we're to install this, I wouldn't use the cig lighter as a power source. I'd make a new isolated connection so that no electronic device in your car would interfere with it.

 

Thanks for the tips! Few questions though, if you're up for it..

1) The display and the remote (see pix and diagram) only have a single wire going to them- which I imagine provides both power *and* signal, so there's no way I can separate this.
2) The Harman Kardon system doesn't have its own ground wire- are you referring to a ground wire from the HU?

Sorry if these are rather obvious questions- car audio is new to me, though I've been modding my car for over a year now, this is the first thing i've done to the stereo.

Thanks

 

Yeah I noticed that the signal wires and power wires are together in one wire bundle. I was referring to audio signals, sorry about the confusion. It's mainly concerning the blue wire and the red wire.

For the blue wire, make sure you're not running it along side a power wire. As for the ground wire, it has its own. It will not work if it doesn't have a ground connection. You can find the ground wire in the red wire. It has positive and negative wires. You would have to get rid of the cig lighter plug, connect the positive to an ACC source and the negative to a bolt attached to the chassis. Make sure to use a thicker wire and make it as short as possible.

 

Well... I was all set to try to wire the power directly into the car, but now my ipod gave up the ghost. It's at best buy being replaced, and my roomate un-borrowed his from me, so I suppose the troubleshooting will have to wait at least another week or so.

Hope some people will still be around to help debug!

 

Ok so I've got an ipod now and I'm ready to start debugging this further.

The general word I've gotten is that the power source for this system (The Harman Kardon thing) isn't grounded well enough when going through the cigarette ilghter, causing it to pick up the alternator whine.

I do have a power cable for the system that is set to be wired into the car itself- it is has Red, Yellow (with a built in fuse) and black wires.

Anyone have ideas about what I could wire this to in my car, and where I could ground it?

 

Hm- bump? Guess now I'm wondering if I should just bring it to Car Toys and ask them to wire it to the car's power and ground it. I know they'll charge me too much but I can't say I'm confident wiring the power, and don't know where I would ground it to.

 

I am not at all an expert but a ground loop isolator should help:

http://www.radioshack.com/sm-see-all...i-2062214.html

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-bOGfIN7...+loop+isolator

 

Ok so I had somebody wire it to the ignition power and ground it to the chassis, thinking it would eliminate or at least reduce the alternator whine.

Wrong *makes the family feud X sound*

I paid $50 for this system, and $25 to have it wired to the car, so i've only got 75 invested in it. Should i abandon it and just save up for a new head unit with better ipod integration?

 

If it's giving you that much of a problem and you're still not satisfied with it, I'd say post it on eBay/craigslist.

 

i have the same problem when connecting my zune to the cigarette lighter.
I have asked a few people, and they all said it was a ground loop problem.
I plan on ordering this, hopefully will fix the problem
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-msWxFwK...sp?i=127SNI135

 

Before you sell anything...I would really suggest you invest the $15-20 on that ground loop isolator at crutchfield. it will fit your needs since you have a 1/8" connection - it has a male end and a female end - just fit it in accordingly. it WILL eliminate any alternator noise/whine.

 

Well.. I was initially wary of ground loop isolators because i'd only seem them for RCA cables, but this one seems to be just the right fit. Plus ALL of the customer reviews at Crutchfield were positive, including one from a scion owner regarding the mini jack. So i've ordered it- wth. I'll let everybody know how it does/n't work.

 

^^ The results are in. The noise filter did not solve the problem, only covered it up (and rather poorly at that). The alternator whine was still there and only slightly quieter, and the filter added a hiss to system silence which I found to be just as annoying as the whine.

All in all, it wasn't worth the 18 bucks I paid for it, however Crutchfield has a great return policy and it's already on its way back to them so there's no hard feelings.

 

heh, i was actually waiting to hear what you said about it before i ordered it. Guess i will hold off on it. My whine isnt too bad though, and if i wiggle it right it pretty much goes away. Sometimes all i have to do is slam my armrest closed and it goes away.